


Shadow Hands

by rinkagaminesbooty



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Character Death, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, Friendship, Mages, Magic, Magic-Users, Multi, Necromancy, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 22:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9144679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinkagaminesbooty/pseuds/rinkagaminesbooty
Summary: "Do you believe in destiny?"- There is something sinister happening, with the Oracle having not reincarnated for 500 years, and the Fore falling apart. Though Rin was far from the typical definition of a hero, gifted with the power of Death, a powerful Mage seeks her assistance to save their fragile world from the grasp of an unknown evil.Ship info added later.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, idk. It's something that I've been working on for a month or so and it just seemed to get really long oops. (Can't guarantee I'll actually update this though.)
> 
> And yes, before you ask - I know how to spell magic.

**Shadow Hands**

⭐️

_Do you believe in… destiny?_

⭐️

Fall was certainly the most breathtaking season.

It was one thought of many that occurred to Rin as she wobbled over trees of orange, red and yellow, determined to _at least_ pass flying class that semester.

It didn't help that she was _absolutely shit_ at Elementic, and well, basically everything. Once upon a time, she blamed her parents' absolute lack of _any_ magik, but later she learnt that had nothing to do with her pathetic skills.

The wind shifted, and Rin locked her legs around the wooden staff of her broom to raise her hands and control her movement. As she concentrated on steadying the broom against the direction of the breeze, a dreadfully familiar scent hit her.

Death.

It had a distinct smell to it.

Surprisingly, it was not unpleasant, but it wasn't something that particularly brought _joy_ when smelt. It was sweet, like burning sugar cane or rotting flowers; sickly, sticky, sweet. Possibly uncharacteristic for, well, _death_.

Not everyone could smell it, though.

Although most magik users had ceased to exist after the Great War, some were still blessed with this so-called 'mysterious power'. What kind of power someone could harness was deemed a 'type'; not very creative, but it worked.

Most people and beasts of magik were born with a main typing – for example, Elementic or Cognition.

Elementic and Cognition were the most common typing categories, although there were many, many less important and hybrid types out there; however, all but a few were still present after the Great War.

The sense of death was a skill—if you could call it that—of a type, hence why not _everyone_ could be graced with the unnerving stench of dead loved ones and vice versa. Much to Rin's distaste, she was one of the rare instances of magik users born with this typing as their main.

Necromancers, otherwise known. Those who played with the strings of fate, who could control death like a puppet.

It had to be that, of _all_ types existing in the present. The worst one. The one people _feared_ the most. The one you couldn't utter a word of, because the authorities would be onto you faster than you could say, "There's a dead student in the forest."

Wait. What.

Rin squinted through the trees, lowering her broom for better view. Her observations were correct. It wasn't a student from her school, rather, but a boy from the rivalling school participating in the race that day.

His broom was strewn in pieces across the autumn leaves, and his last breath had passed his lips approximately fifteen minutes ago.

It wasn't a really painless, quick death, she observed. He broke his neck during the fall—she guessed by the damage and his rather uncomfortable position—and was left there writhing in pain longer than he should've.

Rin hesitated, circling the area so she didn't lose sight of the corpse. Did she really want to go down there? Well, it _was_ probably the right thing to do, as she could either alert teachers of a problem, or somehow fly his dead body back to the crowd.

Part of her just wanted to run away and forget she saw a dead body, though.

If she went down, she might be tempted to - to resurrect him, you know? Even though she was fairly inexperienced as a Necromancer—thanks to zero-to-none education nor sources of information about Necromancy—it was scary how _easy_  she could slip into the next plane and pop a wandering soul back into its body, before it went beyond Death's First Gate.

Eventually, responsibility got the better of her, and with much regret, she unsteadily lowered herself down onto the ground.

Her stomach turned, bile rising to her throat as she was overwhelmed with the sense of death. She was struck with illness as an overpowering wave of magik began to flow through her veins. Her fingertips tingled, hungry for more power.

Rin took a breath and stared at his face, a stab in her chest at the thought of… letting him be.

His eyes were lidded, not completely closed. Blue, piercing, as if they saw right through to the soul. She couldn't tell what his typing was exactly, but she made the educated guess of Elementic, since it was most common. His hair was a dirty blonde, matted with leaves and blood from the fall.

He wasn't just any ordinary person, she sensed. There was more to him, there was supposed to be a grand future for him, it was written in his blood -

_Stop_ , a rational voice urged, and she did for a moment.

But after a brief pause, her hand went to his shoulder, and her eyes fluttered shut, and she was already there.

It wasn't what one would expect at first; an endless white space, with no edge in sight. No sound, no smell, no taste, no temperature. The only thing amongst the empty whiteness was the entry point, back to the living world - a rotting lamppost. But, then again, Rin had never ventured far enough to find the next gate. It was too dangerous.

She could sense his soul easy upon arrival. He hadn't wandered far, probably still in shock. Her gaze fell upon a small grey figure stood in the distance, taking in its surroundings.

Cautiously, she started towards the figure, keeping in mind to stay alert.

There were still many things she had no idea of. She was already vulnerable in a place where she did not yet belong. Passing through the living and the dead could stir the waters, catch the attention of something unpleasant.

For time and distance and speed worked differently in death, or possibly not at all, it seemed hardly a blink of an eye before she reached the grey figure.

The wandering spirits never looked akin to their living bodies, so it took more than just appearance to know the origin of them.

Rin didn't know whether it was an all-Necromancers-thing, but in most instances, she could just sense their intentions and previous identity. A simple glance at these humanoid beings was enough for their previous identity to be whispered within her mind.

It was, perhaps, stranger than it sounded.

So, that was the reason why she could trust her instincts with this spirit in particular. She knew it was the boy, no doubt.

And now she just had to… bring him back.

Rin hesitated. Was she doing the right thing? The answer was no. She knew that tampering with someone's ill-met fate was dangerous. Plus, she'd never revived a human before - who knew whether it was as easy as guiding the spirit of a dog back to the living?

She clenched her fist and took a breath, though there was no need to breathe in death.

A softer part of her was telling her that it was a _good_ deed, and it seemed that part was winning her over.

But… there was also responsibility, and every other repercussion of this action. She hesitated for a moment longer, unnoticed by the spirit, as pity and rationality clashed in her mind.

_Oh,_ screw it.

Death had clouded her mind too much to think the decision through rationally. If curiosity killed the cat, then _so be it_.

Without another moment wasted, Rin lifted her hand.

⭐️

She returned to the world of the living with a wave of intense nausea.

Her hand retracted from the boy's body as if he was engulfed in flames, and she scuttled away with haste to heave into the coloured leaves. Most of the times she dipped into death, she came back feeling only a little ill. This time was different.

The scent of death faded quickly, which eased her stomach at least. It obviously meant she'd succeeded in bringing the boy back - whether it was a smart choice or not, she was soon to find out.

When Rin lifted her head to cast a curious glance his way, he was stirring with soft grunts as the bones in his body clicked back into place. She kept her distance as he healed—a somewhat typical thing that happened with Necromancy—just in case she _had_ brought back something that was not him.

His eyes fluttered open and he gasped, jolting into upright position. His hands flew to his chest, to his limbs, before he sensed another person's presence, his head swivelling around to face her.

Her lips parted as she scrambled for something to say, but couldn't find any words.

The boy spoke instead. "Who're you? What happened?"

Rin blinked, trying to piece together a response that would leave out all necromancy and death-related details. "I'm… I'm a student. I stopped when I saw you lying down here, unconscious…"

It wouldn't go down well without a little bit of lying.

He glanced away for a moment, squinting his eyes in deep thought, as if attempting to recall something.

He then spoke up, an uncertain tone in his voice. "I was flying, and… someone had reached my side, so we were racing to get ahead of each other. Then he… swerved straight into me. I remember losing control, but…" He rubbed his face. "I forget what happened after that."

"Well, it seemed you hit your head pretty hard," Rin stated the obvious. "I… tried to heal you. How are you feeling?"

The boy seemed hesitant. "Sore, I guess."

She stared. "Okay. I think I'll call a teacher here. I'm not a good enough flyer to take you back myself. What's your name?"

"Len. Len Kagamine," he answered.

She nodded and stood, pulling a flare spell to mind. Although it was a fairly simple spell, it didn't come so easy to her. _Nothing_ came easy to her, for obvious reasons.

After she sent the flare off, they sat and waited, with minimal discussion exchanged between them.

"Elementic isn't your forte, is it?" Len had asked after seeing her cast the flare spell.

"Nothing's my forte," was her sullen reply.

Somehow, he didn't seem to pick up how her 'healing spell' and lack of Elementic magic didn't match up. Most renown healing spells were Elementic, after all. She supposed his head hurt too much to make sense of the situation.

Eventually, within ten or so minutes, a small dot appeared in the sky, and that dot came to be a teacher, landing with her broom in the opening not far from where they sat. After exchanging a few words, the teacher gave Rin a suspicious glance, but didn't question any further.

"Is there enough time to finish the race?" Rin asked.

The woman thought for a moment. "No, not enough for you. But I'll write a certificate of excuse for you this time, since there's a legitimate reason."

"Oh." She tried her best to hide her happiness, using her hair to conceal her smile. "Thank you so much."

They set off back towards where the finishing and starting point of the race was, Len with the teacher and Rin straggling behind. She felt relieved she didn't have to finish the race, especially in last place. She wasn't even sure whether she'd have enough energy to complete it after going into death.

Upon landing, they parted ways, and the teacher gave Rin another strange look before disappearing with Len into the crowd of cheering onlookers. As she watched them disappear, she had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last of what had gone down in the forest.

That was the first, but not final, time she'd brought someone back to life.

⭐️

About a week after that event, she was called to the headmaster's office one afternoon during her Magik Theory class, which was the _only_ magik-related class she was good at. In fact, she was almost the top of the class, and possibly would be the top had not the teacher hold some grudge against her for being pathetic at magik prac.

An uneasy sensation made home in the pit of her stomach as she wandered down the empty, aged hallways of her school. She had a bad feeling about her being called to the office, especially after what had happened the week before. The teacher probably dobbed her in, for all she knew.

Rin sidled into the familiar lavender-scented room, walls pale orange and covered in everything and anything school or magik-related.

One of the office workers sat behind an ellipse-shaped desk in the centre of the room, face obscured by hovering sheets of paper as she sorted them into piles with the flick of her wrist.

"How can I help you?" the woman asked, startling Rin from her daze.

"Oh. Um. I was called here…"

The office-worker's head bobbed out from behind the fluttering paper, eyes scanning her. "You're Rin?"

"Yes."

Her head disappeared once again. "Take a seat. The headmaster will be here to greet you in a moment."

Rin gulped and obeyed, perching on the edge of one of the plush chairs lining the side of the room. Now, she was feeling a lot more nervous.

What if she was going to be kicked out of school? Her parents—well, not that they were her _real_ parents anyway—would disown her if they found out about the Necromancy. Heck, the police might even get involved. She might as well end up in jail.

She took a breath, trying to calm herself, but it didn't make much difference.

"Rin?" said a voice, and she lifted her head to greet a pair of stern eyes.

Icy blue, the gaze that belonged to none other than the headmaster herself, Ms Megurine.

Her stomach churned, but much to her surprise, the woman's expression softened into a thin smile.

"May we discuss in my office?" the headmaster requested.

Rin nodded and stood with haste, not wanting to keep her waiting. She followed after the pink-haired woman, stumbling to keep pace with her long stride.

Once they arrived at a room with peach-coloured walls and a window overlooking the school courtyard, Ms Megurine offered her a seat facing the desk in the middle of the room, while she turned to sit in chair behind it.

She obeyed, casting a look down at her hands, which were soaking her stockings with sweat.

"So, Rin Lutwyche, is it?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure you know why I called you here today," the headmaster began. "You do, don't you?"

Rin swallowed. "Yes."

The woman pursed her lips in thought. "The other day I received a concerned report by one of the teachers, after an incident in the forest on the school perimeter during the interstate broom race event." She paused. "A student from one of the rivalling schools was found—by you—unconscious, after falling from his broom."

She nodded.

"Or that's what you claimed. You also told this teacher you had healed him, before signalling for help."

"...Yes."

Ms Megurine's lips twitched into a slight frown. "However, as the teacher reported, it is known you are not strong enough in either Elementic or Cognition magik to be able to cast a healing spell, let alone finish the race after this incident."

Rin said nothing.

"So, if it's true that you healed this student from possible fatal injury, what kind of magik did you even use? You did heal him, correct?"

She looked up at the headmaster, who held a solemn expression on her face. Her words were sombre, but it didn't seem she was angry. Yet.

"Yes. I did, somewhat, heal him, if we're speaking literally," she finally answered, her voice a lot quieter than she wanted it to be. "Though I'm not sure whether it's classified as a healing spell within magik teachings, because it's not… taught."

Ms Megurine sat up straighter. "I'm listening."

Rin glanced away. "You're going to expel me, aren't you?"

She folded her arms over her chest. "What makes you think that?"

"You already _know_ , don't you?"

There was silence.

The headmaster took a breath. "I have ideas. Theories. However, I want to hear what you have to say first. I want to hear what happened, the truth, from _your_ lips, before I come to any conclusion."

Rin rubbed her hands at her knees, before saying, "Necromancy."

"Necromancy?"

She didn't want to look at the woman sitting across from her. She was too scared to see her expression. "Necromancy," she confirmed in a small voice.

"So… if I'm correct, this student was not found unconscious by you," Ms Megurine said, "but rather, dead? And you brought him back to life with Necromancy?"

Rin nodded.

"I see." The headmaster didn't sound very impressed.

She turned her hands over to stare at her palms. The skin was blotchy, red from the furious rubbing. "I tried to stop myself," she continued. "I knew I would get caught, so I tried to stop myself. But pity got the better of me, and I did it anyway. That was the first time I'd ever… brought a human back from death."

Ms Megurine shuffled through some papers. A sinking feeling made home in her chest. Was she going to be kicked out?

"Tell me, Rin. Are you experienced? How many times have you… performed the action of resurrecting something from death?" she then asked.

"I wouldn't call myself experienced. It's all self taught. I try not to… I try not to get involved with Necromancy too much. I've only brought three animals back before. Small animals. I don't really enjoy it… So I try not to do it…" Rin trailed off, lifting her gaze.

Ms Megurine had put on a pair of reading glasses, now looking over the lenses at her. She kept her expression blank. "I see," she mused. "It's pretty remarkable for a Necromancer of little experience to successfully resurrect another human being. Especially you, with hardly any knowledge of this magik at all."

She didn't respond, unsure of whether the headmaster's comment was a compliment or criticism.

"Well, Rin…" the woman began, while jotting something down on the paper before her. "It's in the school rules that a student caught performing forbidden arts within school grounds must be disciplined through either suspension or expulsion, depending on the level of magik cast."

Rin held her breath, dreading what would come next.

"Usually necromancy, especially associated with other students or people, would fall under the expulsion category." Ms Megurine set down her quill and pushed her glasses further up her nose. "However, under my investigation, this was a once-off mishap for you, and theoretically, no one was harmed. So, I've made the decision to not expel you, under the condition that you never, ever perform Necromancy magik within school grounds or in uniform for the rest of your time at Crypton College of Magik Arts. If you're caught again, you will be expelled immediately. Do you comply?"

She let out a sigh of relief, before fixing her posture, hoping the woman across from her hadn't noticed it. "Yes, I do."

The headmaster slid a sheet of paper across her desk, pointing at a blank line amongst many words. "I'll need you to sign this to confirm your agreement. It'll simply be put in your files in case needed later, but nobody will know the purpose of it. Our discussion in here today will be kept confidential." She smiled pleasantly.

Rin obeyed and signed her name, running her eyes over the script. _I hereby agree that in the case of another incident such as this happens, I shall take full responsibility and accept my punishment…_

She shuddered and returned the paper to the pink-haired lady, who was still smiling, the corners of her eyes crinkled with a hint of age. She'd always wondered how old the woman was… There was an inkling that she was a lot older than was shown.

The headmaster then dismissed her without much more discussion, showing her out. Before Rin left for her next class, the older woman chided, "Have a nice day, Miss Lutwyche."

She could only return a wry smile, still anxious from their conversation, and the surprising outcome of it.

As she exited the office and made her way down the hallway, she checked the time to see what class she was going to. The last period had ended five minutes prior, meaning she now had to make her way to Ancient Literature Studies, a painfully boring elective she tactically chose over the many magik practical subjects.

Rin grimaced to herself, having hoped that she might've had the chance to go back to Magik Theory.

⭐️

At the end of a long, dark and aged hallway, stood a long-forgotten, yet once notorious circular room; housing a crescent-shaped oakwood table, about two thirds the length of the room's diameter, lined with six chairs.

Four were older and more frail; one of which had been empty since the Great War, and another that—although was now used—had once been abandoned after an ancient feud that no longer had a name. The other two were newer, the seats hardly worn, and the existence of one caused great controversy, for it went against the initial reason of the four chairs _being_.

Four large draperies hung against the wall, at the North, South, East and West sides of the wide room, each with an individual symbol and colour that represented four ancient Royal bloodlines. They'd been hanging there for millennia upon millennia - an unknown number even to the oldest of the Round Room's members, who were undoubtedly _quite old_.

At the best of times, perhaps all the chairs in this circle space would've been occupied, but now was not the best of times, and as a result, only two sat at the table, awaiting a third member to join them shortly.

A woman entered the room with little to no caution, unconsciously displaying the amount—or lack—of respect she had for these grounds. Perhaps long ago she might've glided in with ease and greeted the table members in a mannerly fashion, but this place no longer brought feelings of grace and harmony, much to her ancestors' demise.

"Did you not say you weren't coming?" one of the seated people spoke up with a sneer. A man - not old, yet not getting any younger - with eyes half-lidded and almost snake-like had focused on her, fiddling with a strand of his long violet hair.

A strange being he was, and unknown, and almost un-belonging to the sacred place he'd made home to.

Beside him sat a boy, on the brink of being a man yet not quite, silent, too young for the armoured uniform he bore. The youth sensed the fiery-red gaze of their company upon him and stood from the seat, having been caught red-handed in an act that might've been punishable by death by the previous leaders of this room.

But not now, the woman thought with bitterness.

She wore a sharp grin, one that showed all teeth, including her abnormally long and sharp canines that planted a seed of fear in those who knew better.

"I was asked to pass on the message on behalf of Elementic's representative. But do note I'd rather not be here, in the presence of you human scum," she spat.

"Oh, Meiko. You seem to only become feistier with age," the 'human' cooed, twisting his hair around one finger - as if he knew her for longer than five years, which was hardly any number on her lifespan. "Go on - is it about the Oracle? Are we saved?"

The woman, deemed Meiko, rolled her eyes. "There would be more chance of one of the original royal's being resurrected, rather than any news regarding the Oracle, whom has been dead for 500 years, and unheard of since, _Gakupo_."

"Then what is it? What's so important for _her_ to have called me to this meeting?" 'Gakupo' said, narrowing his gaze.

" _She_ believes she may have discovered someone with one of the original Royal bloodlines," Meiko relayed, correcting his tone towards the wiser, if not older, group member. "However, their true power has not awakened fully, and it has been discovered that their background information is insufficient. There were adoption papers, but no links to blood-relatives or family history or any degree of DNA-testing."

The human rubbed at his chin. "Hmm. Did she mention any specific bloodline? What magik type does this person harness, so to speak?"

"Heaven knows," she answered. "She only left me with that information. She probably wants to discuss further with you in person. And… without _outsiders_ around." She glared over at the so-called guard, who straightened up immediately on mention.

Gakupo frowned at her point, but didn't bother to argue. "Very well, then. Is that all?"

"Yes," she said. "Speaking of which, I'm very busy as well. Was there anything you'd like me to pass on?"

He thought for a moment. "No, not that I recall. You're free to go."

Meiko snorted at his higher-than-thou attitude and turned away, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Of course, 'she'—Luka—had mentioned the type, but under strict instruction told Meiko that she best leave it out of the message.

"I still don't trust him," the mage had explained, "and you know how humans react to this magik. He'd have her secretly slain, and there'd go any chance of trying to mend the Fore."

Meiko didn't argue against her reasoning, because she agreed. Without the Oracle to choose the members of the Fore - those who sat in the round room, those who were supposed to keep magik and havoc in balance, unbeknownst to the outside world - it left them with trouble.

Only her and Luka of the Fore remained who were of true blood and membership. Neither of them could ever really predict the new Fore members, though most previous members were related to the original four leaders to some degree, so they could only choose knowing that and hope for the best.

Gakupo was, supposedly, a member of the Fore, but not chosen, nor did his kind originally belong. Humans were magik-less beings, starters of war and destruction, reckless with no understanding of how magik truly worked. Their near magik-starved blood traced back to an unknown source, though it is prophesied that they came to as a result of severe inbreeding through a Royal bloodline; a genetic mutation.

A dominant one at that, Meiko noted as she walked out of the great, ancient building, nestled in one of the highest and most remote places on the continent. She stood on a landing platform that overlooked the near-deserted valley and lake below, lush and green, appearing a lot warmer than it was around the mountain top.

She extended her arm out and sliced a nail through the pale skin of her underarm, before reaching for a small device hidden in her coat pocket. She tilted her arm to allow a drop of blood to roll down, cascading onto a flat shape carved into the surface of the device.

As the blood soaked into the shape, the object began to glow and she released it, sending it off a meter from her head. As it hovered away and transformed into something larger, she brought her underarm to her lips and licked up the blood. Her wound disappeared, leaving the skin as it was prior to being cut open.

_If Luka was right about her observation, despite this particular type not being part of the Fore since before the Great War_ , Meiko mused while stepping onto the transparent, glowing platform that formed from the device, _was there a chance of the Oracle returning, too?_

She scowled in thought, raising her hands to part an invisible curtain, weaved with ancient magik; a type that no longer existed in its pure form. Like there was a door to another place at the edge of the platform, she stepped forward and disappeared into thin air, taking the strange magik device with her.

Gakupo watched her go from one of the observation windows above, intrigued by the unusual spell.

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from ffnet.


End file.
